I love getting a glimpse of the internal workings of the stimulus funded projects. I think other communities and broadband projects can learn a lot by watching the funded projects – and I feel as if one of the tradeoffs for receiving funding is sharing the process with the public (the tax-paying public). But then at heart, I’m a librarian.
Lake County is apparently struggling with some of the possibly mandated transparency involved with public meetings and public funds. The Lake County Board of Commissioners has created a Fiber Optics Committee this week. The Lake County News-Chronicle reports…
The committee will not have purchasing power and will likely hold meetings closed to the public. Gary Fields of National Public Broadband, the county’s partner in the enterprise, expressed competitive concerns about open meetings discussing the $70 million project.
The New-Chronicle details the ups and downs of the issue – but they included one fact I found interesting…
Board members can face penalties of $300 per Open Meeting Law violation and be removed from office after a third violation. Any member of the public may seek legal action under the law. Board members may also be liable for court costs and attorney fees of up to $13,000.
I’m hoping that we do get to learn from Lake County’s process. Reading the rest of the article, gives an impression of the changes that are already taking place in the community – long before the fiber is laid and lit.
I wonder how the City of Monticello handled/handles this issue.
To get to Bill’s question….Developing and operating a public system in an open environment is a strength to be embraced. Compliance with the open meeting law is the minimum standard to follow in exploiting that strength. Inviting citizen participation by promoting easy access to the development process builds a community understanding of the issues/obstacles which promotes ownership and trust between constituents and the Board. Although openness might result in some disadvantage from a competitive businesses standpoint, leaders need to put that in the back of their minds. A system well connected to the community, will be more responsive to its needs and accordingly, customers will follow.
However, maintaining an open process for decision making does not require that all staff and subcommittee meetings be open to the public. These meetings are typically held for the purpose of assembly of information to be eventually available to the public and for use by the Board in decision-making. It should be noted that although staff meetings do not have to be open to the public, all of the information generated by the staff in conjunction with these meetings is public data.
Last thought, as you know, your mission as a public utility is to serve the telecommunication needs of the citizens and businesses. It’s not the other way around…This is a positive differentiator! Run with it by working hard at maintaining an inviting and open decision making process.
Best wishes as you roll-out your fiber in service of the telecommunication needs of your great community!
Jeff O’Neill
While they’re at it, why not just call up the FCC and let them know they don’t feel they should comply with those pesky federal regulations.